HeyJared vs Meltwater
Media monitoring giant vs. PR outreach specialist
Meltwater tracks everything. HeyJared gets you coverage.
Different Core Products
Meltwater monitors. HeyJared pitches.
Meltwater
Media Monitoring Platform
Built for Monitoring First
Track 6M+ media sources, social conversations, brand mentions
Analytics & Dashboards
Sentiment analysis, share of voice, competitive intelligence
Outreach as Add-On
Media database and PR tools available, but not the focus
Enterprise-Only
$25K-40K/year, large team requirements
Best for:
- ✓ Enterprise teams tracking brand reputation
- ✓ Marketing teams analyzing campaign performance
- ✓ Crisis management & competitive intelligence
HeyJared
PR Outreach Platform
Built for Outreach First
Get press coverage, not just track it
AI-Powered Pitching
AI finds sources, writes pitches, sends emails
Action-Focused
3 minutes from story to ready-to-send pitches
Startup-Friendly
From $29 one-time, built for solo founders
Best for:
- ✓ Startups launching products
- ✓ Founders who need press coverage fast
- ✓ Teams focused on results, not analytics
Not Really Competitors
Meltwater is for tracking what people say about you. HeyJared is for getting people to talk about you in the first place. Different problems, different tools.
If You're Using Meltwater for Outreach
Here's what the workflow looks like vs. a tool built for it.
1. Tell Your Story
What you do:
Set up monitoring searches first
Example:
Configure monitoring → Set keywords → Define sources → Set alerts → Create dashboards → Track coverage → Then think about outreach
Result:
Monitoring configured
What you do:
Just paste your messy story
Example:
Result:
AI extracts: Industry, hook, angle, credibility
2. Find Sources
What you do:
Manual journalist database search
Example:
Navigate to media database → Filter by beat → Search keywords → Review profiles → Check coverage history → Add to list → Segment by relevance
Result:
30 journalists added to list
What you do:
AI finds exact-fit sources instantly
Example:
Recommended Newsletters
| Newsletter | Why It Fits |
|---|---|
| awesomefintech | founder journeys; aligns with startup storytelling |
| fintechprimetime | data-driven analysis; ideal for market-context pitches |
| frontierfintech | investment opportunities; great for funding angles |
Recommended Podcasts
| Podcast | Why It Fits |
|---|---|
| Fintech Founders | startup journeys; strong fit for founder-led announcements |
| Fintech & Fintech | fintech conversations; broad reach for industry context |
| Fintech One-on-One | in-depth interviews; good for deep dives into tech/business |
Recommended Reporters
| Reporter | Outlet | Why It Fits |
|---|---|---|
| Mary Ann Azevedo | TechCrunch | fintech beat; funding and startup ecosystem angles |
| Fintech Weekly Staff | FinTech Weekly | strong fintech beat; market shifts and regulatory angles |
| Finextra Staff | Finextra | high-volume coverage in Europe; reliable for trends |
Result:
50+ perfect-fit sources with context
3. Write Pitches
What you do:
Use PR Assistant for draft, manually customize
Example:
Open PR Assistant → Enter prompt → AI generates template → Manually personalize for each journalist → Reference their work → Adjust tone → Repeat for each contact
Result:
15 customized pitches written
What you do:
AI writes all pitches for you
Example:
Noticed your recent piece on fraud detection approaches. We're taking a different angle with real-time banking API integration.
Ex-Stripe engineer, $5M from a16z, 3 neobanks already using it. Worth a deep dive?
Our founder built Stripe's fraud system, raised from a16z, went 0-to-10 customers in 60 days. Would love to share the founder journey and what we learned about selling security to neobanks.
Exclusive: Ex-Stripe engineer raises $5M from a16z to fight fintech fraud with real-time ML. 3 neobanks already signed. Happy to provide demo access and founder interview.
Result:
100 personalized pitches ready to send
4. Send & Monitor
What you do:
Send outreach, then track coverage
Example:
Send pitches → Set up monitoring searches → Configure alerts → Track mentions → Generate reports → Share dashboards
Result:
Coverage tracking live
What you do:
One-click send
Example:
Review pitches → Click send → Done
Result:
All pitches sent
20-35x Less for Pure Outreach
Meltwater
Monitoring-first platform
Great for: Monitoring & analytics
Overkill for: Just getting press
HeyJared
One-time purchase, no subscription
Built for: Getting press coverage
Perfect for: Startup PR campaigns
Don't Pay for Monitoring
When You Need Coverage.
Meltwater tracks mentions. HeyJared creates them.